DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36838#0035
CHAPTER I
1478-1490
Castiglione d' Olona—Roman traditions of the place—The family of
Castiglione—Cardinal Branda—His church and palace—The
jurist Franchino Castiglione—His descendants in the service
of the Sforza princes—Baldassare Castiglione serves under
Lodovico Gonzaga and settles at Mantua—Marriage of his son
Cristoforo to Luigia Gonzaga—Birth of the author of HI
Cortegiano'—His early years and training.
ON the heights above the gorge of the Olona, about
ten miles from the Lake of Varese and twenty or more
from the city of Como, stands the ruined castle of the
ancient Castiglione family. It is a wild and romantic
spot, with the rushing waters of the mountain torrent
in the ravine below, and the steep streets and stone
walls of the old town straggling among the chestnut
and acacia woods along its banks. The road winds
through gardens of vine and maize, of hg and olive,
and between the overhanging boughs of the trees we
look hack at the distant range of Alps and the snows
of Monte Rosa.
According to one historian — Bonaventura Cas-
tiglione, who was himself a member of the house—
the name of the place in Roman times was Castrum
Stiliconis, and owed its origin to the Vandal general
Stilicho, who fixed his camp here in the days of
Theodoric. Afterwards it became a Rourishing town,
but was destroyed by Attila and restored by Arch"
VOL. i. 1
1478-1490
Castiglione d' Olona—Roman traditions of the place—The family of
Castiglione—Cardinal Branda—His church and palace—The
jurist Franchino Castiglione—His descendants in the service
of the Sforza princes—Baldassare Castiglione serves under
Lodovico Gonzaga and settles at Mantua—Marriage of his son
Cristoforo to Luigia Gonzaga—Birth of the author of HI
Cortegiano'—His early years and training.
ON the heights above the gorge of the Olona, about
ten miles from the Lake of Varese and twenty or more
from the city of Como, stands the ruined castle of the
ancient Castiglione family. It is a wild and romantic
spot, with the rushing waters of the mountain torrent
in the ravine below, and the steep streets and stone
walls of the old town straggling among the chestnut
and acacia woods along its banks. The road winds
through gardens of vine and maize, of hg and olive,
and between the overhanging boughs of the trees we
look hack at the distant range of Alps and the snows
of Monte Rosa.
According to one historian — Bonaventura Cas-
tiglione, who was himself a member of the house—
the name of the place in Roman times was Castrum
Stiliconis, and owed its origin to the Vandal general
Stilicho, who fixed his camp here in the days of
Theodoric. Afterwards it became a Rourishing town,
but was destroyed by Attila and restored by Arch"
VOL. i. 1